When Grace (Amazing Grace) hears that two girls from her class will ride as princesses on a parade float, she pores over her fairy-tale books. However, Grace's teacher offers the class a wider view of princesses. The paintings depict Grace with vibrant energy, looking royal in her African dress. An author's note gives further information on the princesses in the text. K-Gr 2-A fresh story for fans of all things princess, by the author of Amazing Grace (Dial, 1991). Two girls from Grace's class will be chosen to appear in the town parade as princesses. While researching the fairy-tale frills of royal attire, Grace realizes that she doesn't know what a princess does besides look pretty and wear beautiful clothing. She asks her teacher and discovers fascinating, true, long-ago warrior princesses like Amina, who lived in Zaria (now Nigeria), and Pin-Yang of China. She and her classmates convince their teacher to reconsider the school's float, which ultimately allows all of the children to represent different types of princes and princesses. Hoffman's crisp storytelling encourages further reading of the tales Grace encounters, and the author again uses the lightest touch to provide a lesson. The paintings combine flowing realism with traces of anime during the girl's reading. The multiethnic cast and variety of composition make every page worth extended viewing.-Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VA Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.